Photo credit, property of Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Getty Images, fair use
In a blog entry entitled Equal Rights, Equal Fights, posted on August 1, 2024, I outlined a case against biological females competing with biological males. I did so in a manner related to rationality—that which comports with logic and reason—by stating:
Moreover, male-to-female trans individuals generally have an unreasonable advantage over biological females in many Olympic events (e.g., boxing). Thus, it’s irrational to propose that women can contend with men when considering upper body strength and fast-twitch muscle fiber differences.
This remains valid even if one’s opponent doesn’t identify as trans and is instead classified as intersex. If a female-identifying intersex individual retains more masculine features (i.e., muscularity, testosterone, etc.), one’s opponent may have a significant advantage in regard to competition.
Up until relatively five minutes ago in evolutionary history it was seemingly well-understood that there are differences between females and males. For instance, one source outlines some of these distinctions by stating:
Females are individuals who do or did or will or would, but for developmental or genetic anomalies, produce eggs. Eggs are large, sessile gametes. Gametes are sex cells. In plants and animals, and most other sexually reproducing organisms, there are two sexes: female and male1. Like “adult,” the term female applies across many species. Female is used to distinguish such people from males, who produce small, mobile gametes (e.g. sperm, pollen).
It has been, is, and will continue to be a form of irrationality to argue that there’s no meaningful difference between females and males. Sex matters as much as words matter when used to describe relevant distinctions between the two sexes—female and male.
According to one source, sex is defined as either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male, especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures.
Noteworthy, there is a genetic anomaly known as intersexuality (intersex) which one source defines as the condition (such as that occurring in congenital adrenal hyperplasia or androgen insensitivity syndrome) of either having both male and female gonadal tissue in one individual or of having the gonads of one sex and external genitalia that is of the other sex or is ambiguous.
Nevertheless, the rule of human sex classification is that there are only two sexes. Intersex individuals are the exception that proves the existence of the rule rather than merely an exception to the rule. In any case, there’s a difference between sex and gender.
According to one source, gender is defined as a subclass within a grammatical class (such as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (such as shape, social rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms.
Although sex is determined in utero, gender is a social construct. The arbitrary behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex aren’t necessarily deterministic.
For clarity, “sex” relates to female or male. “Gender” relates to girl, woman, boy, or man. Anomaly of intersex aside, people who experience psychological or physiological discomfort with their biological sex may believe it possible to transition (trans) to another sex or gender.
While many people within society are willing to acquiesce to the irrational notion that a person can chemically or surgically transition from one sex to another, or merely self-identify as a member of an opposite sex, such a proposal has been, is, and perceivable will continue being absurd.
Granting the concept of transgenderism, being that gender is a social construct based on sex, one could make a plausible argument of a biological male deciding to present as a female. However, perception isn’t reality. Thus, my definitive statement is that sex matters and gender essentially doesn’t.
Given this perspective, and considering the post Equal Rights, Equal Fights, I now turn to continued coverage from the 2024 Olympics. According to one source:
Lin Yu-Ting’s controversial Olympic bout sparked fury today after the boxer who previously failed a gender test unanimously beat her opponent and reduced her to tears. Critics slammed the decision to let the Taiwanese fighter compete in the women’s boxing match as ‘unfair, unsafe and wrong’.
The word “her” for an individual who reportedly “failed a gender test” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that source. This is likely because socially-constructed gender is arbitrary.
Pitting a biological female in a physical fight against an ambiguously-gendered individual may have real-world consequences other than what is typically considered a fair fight. Nevertheless, what one considers “fair” may be as subjective as what gender one assumes.
Of course, I’m not the only individual to raise concern about this issue. According to Sex Matters:
The International Olympic Committee’s media briefing on 2nd August was dominated by questions about the eligibility of boxers in the women’s competition. Algerian Imane Khelif had won an opening bout in 46 seconds, amid concerns that Khelif is male. IOC spokesman Mark Adams was asked how the IOC planned to “stop this wave of negative press regarding both these two boxers and also the potentially unfair competition that affects the other boxers”. His answers showed a complete disregard for the second part of that question, implying that neither safety nor fairness can come before male inclusion.
Rather than parroting typical feminist talking points or white-knighting on behalf of females, girls, and women, I’m arguing a case for rationality. Sexual ambiguity, intersex, or trans individuals competing in physical matches against females or males may lead to significant consequences.
In specific, women occupying the role of personnel security men, law enforcement positions, and military billets can impact overall protection capability. Take Olympic boxing as an example.
Between yesterday and today, the world has witnessed biological females who trained for hand-to-hand combat suffering predictable losses when fighting non-biological “females.” Who couldn’t have seen this coming?
Given the obvious mismatch of opponents, how might women fare in a life or death scenario when guarding a principal for personnel protection? One needs to look no further than the video of an attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
While I’ve worked in a diplomatic protection role when in the Marine Corps, it may be worth addressing my billet when serving in the Corps as I was assigned to the military police (MP). First, it’s worth understanding that when I served between 1996 and 2007, female Marines had different physical standards than male Marines.
Differential training standards in a controlled environment may not transfer well to a real-world combat environment. Coddling women in training isn’t something to which an enemy will likely acquiesce on the battlefield. Moreover, according to one source:
Data collected during a monthslong experiment showed Marine teams with female members performed at lower overall levels, completed tasks more slowly and fired weapons with less accuracy than their all-male counterparts. In addition, female Marines sustained significantly higher injury rates and demonstrated lower levels of physical performance capacity overall, officials said.
No matter how hard one tries or how irrationally-motivated one is in an attempt to make females equal to males, idealism doesn’t stack up to realism. Although there were a few female Marines with whom I served who could compete with males, they were the exceptions which proved the existence of the rule.
Second, in regard to my MP billet, female MPs enjoyed similar disparity in physical standards as other female Marines while also frequently training for defensive tactics with other females. What may such idealistic practice result in when in a realistic environment?
Practical application of reduced training standards weren’t honored by the people MPs policed. In a real-world setting, violent apprehensions involving other males didn’t afford female MPs the luxury of relaxed training standards enjoyed when cultivating skills against other women.
The Olympic boxing situation merely highlights how much sex matters in personnel security, law enforcement, and military settings. It may not be the polite thing to point out, though my proposal serves as rational discourse currently lacking on a global scale.
Perhaps you disagree. Maybe you’ve disturbed yourself with irrational beliefs about what I’ve stated in this blogpost. If you’d like to learn about how not to upset yourself in such a manner, I may be able to help as we enter the ring of disputation. After all, sex matters and so does rationality.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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Hollings, D. (2024, April 23). White-knighting. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/white-knighting
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Gender. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gender
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Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Sex. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sex
Seck, H. H. (2015, September 10). Mixed-gender teams come up short in Marines’ infantry experiment. Marine Corps Times. Retrieved from https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2015/09/10/mixed-gender-teams-come-up-short-in-marines-infantry-experiment/
Sex Matters. (2024, August 2). The IOC doubles down on unfairness for women in boxing. Retrieved from https://sex-matters.org/posts/sport/the-ioc-doubles-down-on-unfairness-for-women-in-boxing/
Stone I., Davies, E. J., Batia, S., and Christie, O. (2024, August 8). ‘Unfair, unsafe and wrong’: Fury after second female boxer is reduced to tears after losing to ‘failed gender test’ opponent as Lin Yu-Ting cruises to unanimous points win a day after Imane Khelif left her battered opponent crying. Daily Mail. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13702853/fury-second-female-boxer-reduced-tears-losing-failed-gender-test-opponent-Lin-Yu-Ting-unanimous-Imane-Khelif-opponent-crying.html
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